when we up in the club, all eyes on us

Last night was a trainwreck - I should have gone to bed hours before I did, but instead I curled up on my chaise and doomscrolled and read every bit of the internet. The result was that I didn't go to bed until almost three, which is completely absurd. And so even though I slept until a little after nine, it really wasn't quite enough.

However, I successfully rescued the day - when I got up, I made coffee, did some laundry, and ran to the grocery store to stock up on produce. This was key towards ensuring that I don't need to leave the house next week if I don't feel like it (I mean, I want to take some walks...but I'm not sure I want to be forced to interact with humans). When I got home, I put my groceries away, quickly cleaned myself up, and then came downstairs just in time to welcome Katie to my lovely backyard oasis.

Since the weather is getting colder and covid is spiking enough to keep us from seeing each other inside, our evening activities are pretty curtailed. But it was sixty today, which was still perfect for sitting in my backyard. We started off sitting on the ground in a patch of sun, but we eventually relocated to the couches as the sunshine moved, and it was a pretty perfect couple of hours. I also inducted Katie into the poke club (the place I order poke from is actually called PokéClub) - we ordered poke bowls for lunch, and they were just as delicious as always.

Katie eventually left, and then I tried a new recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (see my other blog). I subbed gluten free flour for regular flour without changing anything else, and they turned out perfectly - really tasty cupcakes, totally delicious frosting, and easy to make. They came out of the oven right before I had a friendship renewal call with Joann and Jen, so I ate my first one while I said hi to Joann, and then frosted the rest of them later in the call.

Unfortunately, 2020 is the gift that keeps on giving, and none of us had any particularly good news to share (although Joann got promoted, which is great, but I already knew that). But it was good to catch up, as per usual, and hopefully Joann and I (and Jen, if she feels so inclined, despite being married) get to spinster honeymoon again together somewhere in the world someday. They were all supposed to come to Colorado in May, but that airbnb got canceled long ago and it feels impossible to imagine how the year might have gone if coronavirus hadn't happened. But someday we shall see each other again! And until then, we can just snack in each other's faces on videoconferences.

sssanyway. After we hung up, Katie showed up again - this time with her children so that they would have somewhere to trick or treat. She had actually brought me candy earlier to give them tonight since I hadn't planned on trick or treaters, so this took literally zero effort on my part (other than opening the door). The girls were dressed as ninjas, which was a good way to incorporate masks, and it was fun to see them for a few minutes. I also gave them cupcakes, which I think went over well.

Then I messed around on my other blog for a couple of hours, documenting the eggplant parmigiana that I made the other night + putting up the cupcakes. Then I ate chili, doomscrolled a bit, and basically got nothing else accomplished. And now I'm determined to be in bed before midnight, so it's time to sign off - goodnight!

run along now, don't be glum. get you gone, now, have some fun...don't be long, for the end is nigh

Today was pretty good, all in all. I still didn't sleep super well last night, but my first meeting wasn't until 10:30, so I had plenty of time to tidy things up in the kitchen, take out some trash and recycling, shower, etc. and still get some work done before my first meeting. Then I slogged until almost six, although I took a short break to walk down the street and pick up some cheese and meat from my favorite cheese shop.

I spent my evening doing a virtual wine tasting organized through work - I had gotten three bottles from Ram's Gate delivered a couple of weeks ago and the tasting was tonight. The wine was really good; I wasn't totally in the mood to do the tasting part, since it involved listening to someone talk about wine when I really just wanted to hang out; and I'm glad I have a Coravin, because it meant I could pour half a glass of each and not open the bottles.

So I tasted and sipped while also eating a bunch of cheese. After, I jumped into a side video with a guy I work with and his wife, who were also on the tasting, and that was much more hilarious and my speed. And then I ate some leftover eggplant parmigiana, did some stuff around the house, etc. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

did you write the book of love

Thursday in the apocalypse...but it was pretty good overall. I didn't sleep well last night and woke up feeling like I might be on the verge of having a terrible, no-good, very bad day. But I drank coffee, journaled, and managed to pull myself out of the worst of my funk. So that meant I slogged all day, had some good meetings, ate some chili for lunch, took a walk while listening to a podcast, and then slogged some more.

But I stopped at five to make a somewhat elaborate dinner - I tried a new recipe for eggplant parmigiana, and it was fucking delicious. Like, perfect. And the eggplant wasn't breaded, so it was naturally gluten free. Of course, it took longer than I would usually spend on a weeknight meal, but it was worth it - I made a pretty simple tomato sauce (just canned whole tomatoes, oil, garlic, and basil), fried slices of eggplant, cut up some fresh and smoked mozzarella, and then layered tomato sauce, eggplant, mozzarella(s), parmesan, and basil in a baking dish. I cut the recipe in half and made an 8x8 instead of a 9x13 since I would have trouble eating a 9x13 myself - and it was so, so, so good. So, that was #worthit and a v. nice way to end the day.

Then I talked to [censored] for a couple of hours - he was driving and we hadn't talked in a couple of weeks, so neither of us had anywhere better to be and leaned into a v. long conversation. And then I did a tiny bit of day job work to prep for tomorrow...and now it's time for bed. Goodnight!

saying goodbye to bygones

I'm exhausted and need to stop looking at screens and go to bed. I woke up too early this morning, did some virtual event stuff (it ended this morning and seemed to go really well!), then had to immediately transition into a full day of slogging. So, I slogged, got a poke bowl delivered as my #treatyoself moment of the day, took a break for my class with Alyssa, and then slogged some more.

But by 5:30 I was finally done. So I walked to my nearby polling place to drop off my ballot - Colorado has really cracked the code on how to do voting, since the ballot shows up, there are plenty of places to drop it off, and they automatically track it at every step so you know if it got counted. I was only there a minute, but there were multiple cars in line waiting to drop off to the manned drive-through dropoff, and I got to the pedestrian 24hr box just at the same time as another woman. For six p.m., six days before the election, my v. anecdotal survey says that turnout is high.

Then I came home, ate some leftover pork chile verde, talked to Katie, and did absolutely nothing of worth or substance the last three hours. And now I'm going to sleep - goodnight!

the simulation just went bad

Today was a v. v. long day, but it was #worthit. I got up early this morning because I had some work that absolutely had to get done before the actual workday started, so I did it while sitting on my chaise and drinking coffee (which sounds decadent, but it was still work). Then I had meetings pretty straight from 9:30am to 9:30pm - I had a couple of hours during the day to get some work done, but I also had a four-hour 'offsite' (definitely onsite, still sitting in the same place I always do) from two to six.

Then I went straight into a virtual event - the big, fun, amazing in-person event(s) that my team plans every year (like last year, when I got to go to Sydney and Berlin) were replaced this year with a virtual event. It started yesterday with an Americas-friendly time, but tonight is the Asia/Pacific time - so I watched it off and on from six to ten (with some other work interspersed). It's been a really good virtual event - and probably way healthier for me personally, since I just watched a few sessions in my kitchen while making chili (instead of flying halfway around the world to work sixteen hours a day and drink moscow mules in random bars). Still, the flying halfway around the world and drinking moscow mules in random bars are things I really miss, so perhaps someday that will happen again.

But it won't happen today - Denver went into stricter lockdown because our cases are spiking. Great.

sssanyway, now that I had done my duty for the event tonight, I need to sleep - the Asia/Pacific session runs straight into the Europe session, so I have to wake up early for the closing ceremony (luckily I already taped my session, but I may want to answer chats, unclear). Goodnight!

blue are the streets and all the trees are too

Today was pretty good, I guess. I didn't get enough sleep, which I'm hoping to rectify soon. But I got up in time to meditate before work, and I washed and dried my hair, and I wore jeans, which are all real accomplishments. Then I worked all day - I had yet another meeting with my VP, but this time it was just the two of us, and the third time is a charm and she didn't yell at me and instead we had a great conversation, so I'm taking the win.

The rest of my meetings were fine, and I took a break around five to do some homework for Alyssa's class + make my first attempt at gluten free bread. I had put the dough in the fridge to rest yesterday, so today I had to preheat the oven and a baking stone (luckily I have one from my grandma), shape a loaf, and bake it. Then I had to let it cool completely, which was hard because it smelled great. I would give it a 6.5 or 7/10 - I would definitely eat more of it, and the crust was great, but the middle seemed slightly too dense or undercooked. Not sure if that's the altitude, the mixing, or something else - but I still have half the batch of dough left, so I'll try again in a few days.

While that was baking/cooling, I ate some leftover pork chile verde and overindulged on twitter. But I pulled myself out and did an hour or so of day job work, which was v. necessary - and now I may crawl into bed with my notebook and do a bit of brainstorming for an offsite that I have tomorrow (maybe not the most relaxing way to end the evening, but better than waking up in the morning panicked because I haven't finished it). Goodnight!

but in the end, something just didn't feel right

Sometimes I do a quick search on my blog to see if I've used a lyrics as a title before; sometimes it turns up that lyric, but often it turns up a bunch of posts that use some of the words, and that results in an impromptu trip down memory lane. Tonight's search revealed:

- the wine trip Terry, Subz and I took to Calistoga; it was a weekend or two before the 2016 election, and before several Calistoga wineries burned this year, so it felt like a throwback to a more innocent time

- a time when Claude told me, Chandlord, and Renee (who I used to hang out with) the story of Rumpelstiltskin in a California Pizza Kitchen

- the glorious afternoon Riturani and I spent getting our nails done and drinking a whole bottle of champagne and congratulating each other on how great we are (to be more specific, this time was right before her engagement photos; this is a typical day for us overall, although I prefer when it involves oysters)

- the time I was eating lunch outside in Palo Alto and watched a woman carry her child on her shoulders...and then the child vomited into her hair

- the day I scraped my RAV4 in Chandlord's parking garage

- when I was in Jasmine and Michael's wedding (funny how you can be in someone's wedding and then not see them for over a decade)

- shopping on Grafton St when I lived in Dublin

- Fleet Week and feeling like I came close to getting kidnapped by a cab driver

- a work day that sounds a lot like the day I had on Friday, but it was in 2007

So, that was fun. While it's entirely insane and ridiculous that I've been doing this with astonishing regularity for sixteen (!) years, it's really fun and bizarre to dip into the minutiae of whatever I found interesting years ago.

sssanyway. Today was boring and I was not in it to win it. I did get almost nine hours of sleep, which was amazing - but it snowed all day and never made it over sixteen degrees, so I stayed inside and tried to battle my lethargy. I did pretty well considering my mood - I made a frittata for breakfast (and for breakfasts the next few days), then wrote (via an online writing date with Veronica). I then messed around online, ate some leftover spaghetti carbonara, and took the first pass at some experimentation with a new gluten free baking book that I got - I mixed up their preferred flour blend and also mixed up a batch of dough, which looks promising so far. The dough is better after being refrigerated and can be refrigerated up to ten days, so I'm sure I'll test out a loaf later this week.

Then I talked to Katie, threw together the ingredients for instant pot pork chile verde, and talked to my parents while the chile verde cooked. The chile verde was completely delish, so at least it was worth the effort.

Then I cleaned up my kitchen, adjourned to my office, and wrote some more. And now I need to fold some laundry / decompress / go to bed - goodnight!

this is a spiritual world, i'm a material boy

I was running on fumes this morning, but I somehow rallied and got a million things done. I did laze about for awhile with coffee and my journal and my phone (mostly my phone, which is never a good way to start the day). But I forced myself to eat some yogurt, take a shower, and then run to Crate and Barrel in Cherry Creek to return a couple of decorative pillows that I ordered on impulse and then promptly regretted. Crate and Barrel was mostly empty, so I browsed and picked up an oven thermometer and some other baking supplies for some baking experiments that I want to make in the coming weeks. I also daydreamed of decorating my entire house in fun and whimsical new ways, and then remembered that that's absolutely not what I want to spend my money on (okay, I want to spend my money on it, but I also want to do other things more), so I successfully left without an egregious amount of stuff.

Then I came home, made a sandwich, cleaned up some tings, and took a nap. And then I rallied and actually cleaned out my garage, which has been on my list for a year - it was nice enough today to be outside, but tomorrow it's going to be twenty degrees and snow multiple inches, so I forced myself to do garage stuff on what felt like the last nice day of the year (it will not be the last nice day of the year, but you never know in 2020). I put together some shelves I had ordered, organized everything that's in the garage, brought in some stuff that shouldn't have been out there, etc. And I broke down some boxes that need to be recycled (slowly, over the next few weeks, since my recycling is only every other week). I also swept, then used my leaf blower to push all the dirt outside,  and it was tremendously satisfying. Yes, I am old. But I also like things to be tidy, and I'm v. happy that my garage is now clean enough that two cars could theoretically fit (or my one car has a ton of room).

Then, since my garage was clean, I took my car to the carwash, where I washed and vacuumed it and generally got it ready to spend the next couple of weeks going nowhere due to the weather. I also put gas in it, for similar reasons. Then I came home, made some spaghetti carbonara for dinner, messed around on instagram, and then took a bubble bath while reading Padma Lakshmi's memoir.

And now that I've done about as much treating myself as I can do in one evening, I think it's time for bed. I have grand plans to write in the morning, and I also have grand plans to cook a million things so that I don't have to cook so much during the week - wish me luck with that. Goodnight!

i liked you better in college

I'm tired and should have gone to bed two hours ago, but instead I've been trying to decompress by lounging under a faux fur blanket and occasionally sipping a glass of wine that I poured ages ago. Today was hectic - it started by dropping my car off at the dealer for routine maintenance, which meant driving halfway to Boulder on a road that I barely ever take anymore. Everything felt vaguely apocalyptic this morning - someone at the dealer looked outside and said it was snowing, and then someone else asked if it was actually ash (I think it was ash). It was cold enough to be snow, but we also somehow suddenly have the second largest fire in state history rushing through Rocky Mountain National Park to connect with another fire that's been burning for a couple of months, so shit feels particularly real right now.

Then I came home and slogged all day, and some of my meetings were really fun but some were super annoying. Then I rushed back to pick up my car. At that point I would have happily drank wine and sat on my couch and stared at nothing, but I forced myself to eat something and then go to Whole Foods - my food hoarding is kicking back in as I watch coronavirus cases tick up, and it doesn't help that the US response is so much worse than the rest of the developed world. So I stocked up on a bunch of stuff and am happy that I won't have to brave the crowds tomorrow since I'm sure they'll be packed in advance of the snow we're going to get on Sunday.

And now I've done enough dozing off downstairs - I should really go to bed. Goodnight!

so you can wipe off that grin, i know where you've been, it's all been a pack of lies

Today was reasonably good, but winter is definitely coming - I'm not sure it cracked forty degrees today, and it was pretty miserably cold while I took care of my only outdoor errand (unpacking v. heavy box with a shelving unit that got delivered to my front door, and which I needed to move to my garage). But for the most part I was safe inside - I got up this morning and didn't write before work, but I did journal. Then I slogged all day, with a break for some leftover shrimp at lunch. I worked until almost six, then took care of some tings around the house.

And then, rather than watching the debate, I gave myself a break and instead wrote for about forty minutes, which was a much better use of time. And I finally filled out my Colorado ballot, which was v. easy on the national races and a little trickier on the ballot initiatives since there were several pages of them.

And now, having (mostly) done my civic duty (other than dropoff), it's time for bed - goodnight!

there's a world outside every darkened door

I had a great day, but I'm now way too tired to blog. I got up early and wrote before work, then slogged incessantly. But I cleared out as soon as work was over and went to a coworker's house, where I sat on her roof and met her new puppy (which makes me still want a dog, but maybe not a puppy) and had some chardonnay and generally had a delightful time. It was a really nice evening in Denver, but we're headed for sub-freezing temps tomorrow night and snow + bitter cold this weekend, so I felt like I was making the best of the end of the season before winter sets in with a vengeance.

But now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

enterprising wise men look to the horizon

Today was a little meh - not terrible, but my energy was never quite right and I think I should go to bed asap. I did manage to write before work and it was v. promising. Then I had many meetings, got rid of the boxes I packed last night, ate some beef stew for lunch, etc.

I probably should have done a bunch of work tonight, but instead I slacked off and made garlic chili shrimp - it was pretty fast because the garlic chili paste was already made (I made this recipe a few weeks ago and the sauce results in a double batch, so it was sitting in the fridge waiting for this moment). The shrimpies were super tasty - coated in garlic that had been pureed with oil and a little paprika and turmeric, then stirfried and tossed with some shallots and a bit of jalapeño. I served it over coconut rice, and it was a v. easy, tasty, decadent little feast.

Then I cleaned up the kitchen and basically procrastinated until now. And now I'm going to send a couple of work emails and go to bed - goodnight!

oh i tried diving even though the sky was storming

I'm pretty sleepy and should probably already be in bed. Today was sort of good, sort of stressful; I woke up in time to force myself to write, and the writing was good, and so if I could have just done that for another few hours it would have been great. Instead, I had to slog (after a shower) - I had meetings straight from ten to three-thirty without any break at all, and you will note that that meant I didn't get lunch. I usually don't succumb to the temptation of ordering lunch until Thursday or Friday every week, but I pulled the trigger on my weekly poke bowl (salmon, spicy tuna, seaweed salad, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, many other tasty things) today, so I guess I better cook something tomorrow night to stave off further lunchtime breakdowns.

But my meetings were fine, all in all. Then I took a break to run an errand, which involved walking, which was great. I did a bit more work, had a doctor's appointment (nothing wrong except for my stupid stomach and how it chooses to take all of my stress and turn it into a ball of acid gnawing at my insides), then came home and ate some leftover beef stew. Then I spent a truly ridiculous amount of time packing four boxes to get picked up by DHL tomorrow - this has been a very stupid, very boring saga that has dragged on for a couple of weeks, but hopefully everything is correctly packaged and labeled and ready to go. I will be v. glad to get them out of my garage, and to celebrate I ordered some shelves to put in the garage, so I guess garage organizing may be a project for this weekend (although it may snow on Sunday, so maybe not).

Then, it was suddenly nine p.m., but I had to do some work for tomorrow, so I did that. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

listen all y'all, it's a sabotage

Suddenly it's late and I need to go to bed immediately. But I was v. productive today - shockingly so, considering that I usually spend Sundays indulging in the Sunday Scaries and talking on the phone. It's even more shocking because I didn't sleep well last night, and so I woke up groggy and not at all in it to win it.

However, I did manage to meditate, journal, and take care of a couple of tings this morning and make myself an omelette, so that was all a win. Then I met up with V for a virtual writing date - I messed around with the epiphany that I had about the book yesterday and validated that it really is an epiphany. It's going to require replotting the whole thing and perhaps dramatically shifting my understanding of it, but that's pretty exciting and I'm planning to tackle it in the morning before the day job sucks me in.

After V and I said our farewells, I did some laundry, ate some lunch, and took a brief nap. But then I rallied - my task for the afternoon was to blow out my sprinklers, and I actually accomplished it and am pretty sure I did it correctly, so that was v. exciting. The air compressor that my dad and I bought last year has now paid for itself in terms of not having to hire someone else to blow out the sprinklers - and I feel v. satisfied for having done it myself. Of course, it took about an hour by the time I messed around with getting it hooked up and then blowing out each zone - switching zones required going back to the garage to switch the control box, and each zone needed to be blown out with 2-3 compressor cycles of air, which meant some time spent recharging the compressor between every cycle. But it's done now, so I don't think I have to worry about flooding my basement with a broken pipe anytime soon.

After I was done with that, I talked to my parents for an hour or so while taking care of some stuff in the garden (trimming back stuff that needed trimmed, planting some iris that Barbara had given me and hoping it survives). Then I made instant pot beef stew - it takes time, but it's so so worth it, and this may be the best batch I've ever made.

And now, after having done some more adulting things this evening, I think it's time for bed - goodnight!

girl you look so pretty to me

I had a v. delightful, v. productive day. I decided to get up around when I usually do during the week, adn I spent the morning journaling, tidying up the house, cleaning my back patio, etc. Around noon, my friend Barbara came up from Colorado Springs - we wanted to squeeze in a visit before the weather turns, and I'm glad we did because winter is most certainly coming (and what isn't made unpleasant by cold is rendered challenging because of incessant wildfire smoke).

We hung out for several hours, ate takeout Indian food, talked about books and writing and life, and generally enjoyed each other's company. I also foisted a funfetti cupcake off on her, and I think I've successfully spread the freezer cupcake gospel to another new acolyte. It was great to see her, and I may have had an epiphany about my book, so we'll see.

After she left, I prepped some chicken stuffed with goat/cream cheese and wrapped in proscuitto (which I made a couple of weeks ago) and took them over to Katie's. I also took some broccoli, and we threw all of it in the oven while we enjoyed snacks outside. Katie made Dark and Stormies (Darks and Stormy? Darks and Stormies? Dark and Stormy x2?), and I brought 'baby champagne' (aka sparkling apple cider for the girls) and it was a delightful evening.

And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

it takes two to make a thing go right

Today was fairly annoying. It started with bloodwork, which meant I couldn't drink coffee as soon as I woke up. Then, as the phlebotomist was trying in vain to find a vein, she casually said that she just does this occasionally to keep her skills up, which explained why it took ten minutes and two attempts to find a vein (luckily she wasn't a digger, but I was worried for a minute). But at least I got to walk to and from the doctor's office, which was a highlight of my morning.

Then I came home, promptly made coffee, had breakfast, and slogged. I had a VP presentation that was fairly annoying (I usually slam dunk them, but this one was not a slam dunk, which made me cranky). I didn't end up getting lunch until two, so it's a good thing my breakfast was late. And I was probably destined to stay cranky if I'd kept working...

But I ducked out for a ninety-minute class/coaching session with Alyssa, which was great. Then I talked to Sara (not myself; a friend with the same name) for quite some time, and that was a delight. And then I generally relaxed, tidied up, and ordered a steak and fries from LoHi Steakbar. Fries are something I have deeply missed during the pandemic, and while these arrived slightly soggy, I reheated them in a skillet and they were still greasy and salty and therefore the best thing ever. The steak was pretty good too, and it went a long way toward restoring my mood.

But now I want to stop staring at screens, so I'm going to read (and possibly talk to [censored] to keep him awake while he drives) and go to bed. Goodnight!

hands, knees, please, tangerine, sugar, honey, sweet

It's amazing how much time I have at night if I don't cook something elaborate. Today was pretty good, overall - I got more sleep than I had been getting, and I did some tidying up around the house while drinking my first cup of coffee, which was good. I slogged most of the day, but a bunch of meetings got canceled, so it wasn't too onerous. I had time to make some poached eggs for lunch to go with some leftover potatoes/chard. And I stopped at five, looked at the weather, and realized that it might freeze tonight - so I drained the water from the main sprinkler pipe and put insulation around the backflow preventer. I was thinking I could make it another week before blowing out my sprinklers, but that may become an activity for Sunday....we shall see.

Then I ate some leftover shepherd's pie, which was much better today than it was last night. I also took a walk and listened to a podcast - it was v. chilly and getting dark and winter is definitely coming, which feels grim in a world of rapidly spiking covid cases and working from home. But tonight wasn't grim - I got a whole bunch of personal shit done, did a tiny bit of day job stuff, ate a funfetti cupcake with rainbow chip frosting (seriously, keep unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer and a can of frosting in the fridge, it's the best), and generally felt uber productive. I've been uber productive for a few days, so I wonder when the crash is coming....but I'll keep going as long as I'm able to, and then I'll eat more cupcakes to get through the unproductive days instead.

And now I want to take a break from screens before going to bed - goodnight!

welcome to this one-man show

I didn't sleep at all well last night; I tossed and turned and was mostly awake after five, which made me v. surly. I am usually a champion sleeper, so whenever I don't sleep well, I take it as an affront to my whole way of life. Of course, I still stubbornly stayed in bed until seven, which wasn't great for my morning - I had meetings starting at nine, but I eked out a few words on my story and meditated and had coffee, so it could be worse.

Then I slogged all day - nothing particularly brutal, although I ordered a poke bowl in a #treatyoself moment. I threw in the towel around five; I was supposed to go over to Kelly's, but her husband's coworker has covid, so I decided to play it safe. Instead, I made a shepherd's pie, which took forever (I should've risked covid instead...KIDDING). It was fairly tasty, but shepherd's pie is basically tater tot casserole (but with mashed potatoes instead of tots), and tater tot casserole would have been preferable. However, I made mashed potatoes in my stand mixer for the first time and they turned out great, so at least I have discovered that trick to improve my overall life.

After that, I didn't have much energy for anything else, so I mostly hung out and did nothing - but I did send some info to someone about refinancing my house, so I'll consider that a win if I pull it off. And now I think I'll go to bed and hope tonight's sleep is better - goodnight!

heat waves been faking me out

Today was a bit of a trainwreck. I had to start at nine instead of my preferred 9:30, which cut into my coffee / journal time. I had meetings pretty much all day; some of those meetings gave me a headache. I ate some leftover potatoes/chard and some freshly poached eggs for lunch, which was v. tasty, and that was pretty much the highlight of those nine hours.

Sometime in the middle of my last meeting, I heard the sound of pipes banging and assumed it was my neighbor. I was correct, but I was v. surprised to see a text from the neighbor saying that he had blown up my sprinklers. My sprinklers, not his sprinklers. So I ended my last meeting a little abruptly, went outside, and discovered my neighbor attempting to fix my backflow preventer. He'd told me over the weekend that he wanted to spread some grass seed and would text me to turn on my sprinklers when he had done so, which I said sounded great. But when he texted me this afternoon (which I didn't see), he just said he would turn them on - which was bold, since the controls are in my garage. Apparently, he thought the box by my backflow preventer was the same as his (we have a lot of other features in common, since we're each half of a duplex), and so he just turned on a valve there, and that changed the pressure in my system and shot the pressure cap on my backflow preventer way up in the air (luckily he didn't break a window).

ssssanyway I was not particularly amused, but he figured out how to fix it and I didn't have any water in my basement, so it's all good. And since he's mowed literally every time this summer, I'm not too upset. But needless to say, any thoughts I had of clean living were out the window after a crazy day at work + my sprinklers blowing up. So I had a glass of wine, talked to [censored] for nearly two hours, ate leftover steak, and generally chilled out. I also talked to Katie to tell her about our favorite small town lawyer's victory in a chicken-wing-eating contest (only a few of you will know who this is, but if you know you know).

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

but I left it way too late, are you stuck in your own ways?

It's Monday, which is never a delight in the apocalypse. However, I tried to make the best of it. I had coffee and journaled before work, which helped to set me up just a little better than otherwise. Then I slogged most of the day, with a long break around lunch to eat leftover thai food and take a walk around the neighborhood.

I took a break around 5:30 to heat up my grill, throw some brussels sprouts in the oven, and grill a ribeye. The steak turned out perfectly, which was pretty delightful (okay, I lied earlier - Mondays in the apocalypse can be a delight if there is ribeye). I also had a twice-baked potato in my freezer, which is another trick I've discovered in the apocalypse - I only have one left, so I'll have to make some new ones soon. Steak + perfectly charred brussels sprouts + twice baked potato + a glass of wine = a v. nice Monday dinner. It also fueled me to spend another three hours answering emails, which is not what I usually like to do, but it had hit the point where I felt like I needed to catch up.

Then I closed my work laptop, managed to stay off twitter, and instead read a few chapters of Padma Lakshmi's LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT WE ATE, which is fantastic so far. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

nothing hurts like your mouse

Today was good, but long and full of zooms. I woke up and had a v. leisurely morning with coffee and journaling, etc. And I made some tasty acelgas guisadas, which is basically just stewed tomatoes, onions, potatos, and chard - I make it every once in awhile as a bed for poached eggs, and it hit the spot today.

The afternoon was then consumed with a variety of catch-ups - I talked to my parents first, which was unusually early, but I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to catch up. Then I talked to Veronica; we hadn't talked in weeks, so we were v. overdue. Then, almost immediately after that I talked to Terry - we did a phone call instead of a zoom because everyone is zoomed out, and it was lovely.

Then I took a break, ate some takeout thai food, messed around, took a nap, etc. And I ended the evening with a family dinner zoom in honor of Adit's birthday; Marina was a surprise special guest. Vidya won best jhoke for a truly terribly joke about all the mink that died of covid (coatvid), which she only won because there were no other jokes. Adit and Priyanka claimed to be in a local maxima, but everything they discussed seemed pretty minima - they won 'worst problem', which was that they had a mouse staring at them and eating one of their doors through most of the call.

You can catch up on the rest of the topics with the chat transcript, which was used to catch people up as they joined late:

[in regards to Adit's birthday] Adit’s parents ordered cake
Sister ordered cupcakes
Priyanka bought flowers for the photos
They have a mouse

John bought a dinghy

Marina had to teach online bc the Colorado college students all have covid

John and Jess’s kid is still in backyard school

Bill is wearing plaid pants

The mouse is eating through the door
it’s like a zombie mouse
trying to get to them

Ritu and Bill bought a house
but they can’t get out of their lease
one road in, one road out (same road, as Bill said)

oh yeah - John’s new dinghy has a hole in it
The term 'dinghy' is a loanword from the Bengali ḍiṅgi, Urdu ḍīngī, and Hindi ḍieṁgī

They hired a professional [to get rid of the mouse]
$1000

a dingo is not a dinghy

Pls vote for coated!!! coatvid

We also discussed nap dresses and nap suits, Priyanka's problem with mopping floors, how Adit's best birthday was the one he didn't spend with any of us, Bill's parents' house sitting unattended in Georgia (if you need somewhere to break in), paddleboarding, air quality in the bay area, etc. Pretty standard, and pretty low energy if we're all being honest. But seven months into quarantine, everyone is pretty low energy, so I guess that's what you get.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight! 

you've been dreamless and sleeping for years

I was scribbling some notes in my journal, but I suddenly hit the wall and think I need to go to bed immediately. Today was nice, though; I woke up and spent time with my coffee and cookbooks, debating what delicious things to make this week. I also talked to Chandlord for awhile; neither of us are funny anymore because it's the apocalypse, but we did our best. I cleaned out my freezer and checked up on my supplies. And I ate the last of the chicken breast stuffed with cheese and wrapped in prosciutto - that recipe is super tasty, and I already wish I had more of it in my fridge.

Then I ran a couple of errands - I had to drop off a couple of returns at Nordstrom, and I had to pick up something at Crate and Barrel, so I combined those errands with a trip to the Cherry Creek Whole Foods. They didn't have any eggplant, so the eggplant parmigiana that I thought about making this week may not happen, but I'll see if the farmer's market (last of the season!) has any tomorrow. But I stocked up on some tings, and I'm pretty excited to try some new recipes this week.

Then I came home and was planning to be sloth-filled the rest of the night, but Katie called and invited me over for dinner. Before I went, I had my usual friendship renewal call with Joann, Jen, and Jane; it was more depressing than many of our pandemic calls, which is saying something, but there were some moments of extreme levity (probably seasoned with annoyance to give it its best taste).

Then I went to Katie's, where we ate a lot of Indian takeout, drank a delish rosé, and went deep on the meaning of life. And now I really really need to sleep - goodnight!

time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings

Today was okayish. Work was ridiculous this week, and while it's all fine, it was also a lot of dealing with other people's emotions, which always wears me out. So, I ducked out around two to run some errands - I had glasses sitting in Boulder that I should have picked up three weeks ago, and I needed to make a return to Nordstrom Rack (of which there is one in Boulder). It was a bit bizarre to go up there because I realized I might not have a reason to go back at all this year - it's unlikely that I'll go to the office, and there almost certainly won't be a holiday party, and I don't have any other reasons to go. Strange times, friends.

Then I made a Costco run, which I refuse to do on the weekends. I was mostly there to stock up on canned goods and other sundry supplies, but I also found a space heater / cooler / air filter that I'd had my eye on and it was deeply discounted (enough to get it under the remaining budget that I had from my company giving us money for our workspaces). So, that was exciting - I want to actually work out in my basement, but it's slightly too chilly, especially in the winter. And the smoke has been bad off and on here, so an air filter is not amiss (if I choose to have it in my bedroom or office instead).

And then, depressed that the most exciting thing about my day was finding a space heater, I came home, unloaded my bounty (actually, I meant that metaphorically; literally, I left the 18-pack of Bounty paper towels in the car), and took a nap. Then I ate leftovers, but they were so delicious that they still felt decadent - that chicken stuffed with cheese and wrapped in prosciutto is really fucking good, and I reheated some broccoli and made a fresh baked potato, and it was a delight.

Then I finished reading UNTAMED (also a delight), texted with some people, etc. And now I think I will go to bed, unless I start another book - goodnight!

i'll help you carry on

Nothing to report today...it was a pretty brutal slog at work, but mostly brutal for other people and not for me. It all started weird because I had to move four large boxes of stuff from my garage to my front door, remove the old labels, add new labels, and place them outside for FedEx - it was work stuff that had to end up here because the office was closed, and I'm glad to get them out of my garage (and even more glad that they got picked up rather than me having to schlepp them to a dropoff). But still, it was kind of an annoying thing to start my morning with. And then I had meetings pretty much straight through until five (although I treated myself to a poke bowl for lunch).

Promptly at five, I took a break and talked to Irish Matt for awhile - we had not talked in ages and were v. overdue. Then I baked a potato while I did some day job stuff. And then I ate that potato with leftover chicken and broccoli from yesterday. I dallied a bit on twitter, read a bit of the book I'm reading, and generally tried to decompress, but it wasn't quite possible (but all in all, life is fine and I'm not actually that stressed, just a bit fried at the moment).

And now, even though it's relatively early, I think I'll head to bed - goodnight!

when the rain washes you clean you'll know

It's Wednesday, day eleven million of the apocalypse. I woke up in time to meditate / journal before work, but then the day was a slog - I had meetings, more meetings, and a bit of a break to dump a cobb salad out of a jar from my fridge. It was all kind of a lot and I wasn't in the mood for most of it, but I managed to get through with my sanity intact.

Then I took a break and had a videoconference glass of wine with a couple of coworkers, which bled straight into making a fairly elaborate dinner - I tried a recipe for chicken breasts stuffed with cheese/bacon and wrapped in prosciutto, and they were really delicious. It basically involved pounding out the chicken, mixing some cream cheese / goat cheese / thyme / oregano / garlic and smearing it on top, sprinkling bacon on top of that, rolling the chicken, and then wrapping it in prosciutto and baking it. Super tasty, not all that difficult even if it was several steps, and perfect with some roasted broccoli and a baked potato. 100% would make again, ideally for a dinner party.

Then I watched the debate (and drank more wine), then I debriefed with Katie, and now I need to think about going to bed - goodnight!

might as well jump

No blog tonight....I got up and wrote before work, then slogged all day. I took a bit of a walk when I finished and talked to my dad while I was outside, which was nice. Then I did a v brief workout in my basement - I haven't swung kettlebells in forever, but I kind of want to get back into it. Then I prepped some cobb salads - one for tonight, and two for lunch this week. And then I rounded out the night by reading - I started Glennon Doyle's UNTAMED last night in bed, and it's jaw droppingly good, so I made some more progress tonight.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

and stupid is as stupid does

Today was fine....not the best day ever, but certainly not the worst. I meditated and journaled before work, then slogged most of the day. I spent the evening tidying up, moving things around my house, eating leftover pasta (still delicious tonight!), taking care of some personal paperwork, ordering books that I will probably never get around to reading, etc.

And now, on that v. boring note, I'm going to try to read a bit before bed - goodnight!

that's a fine looking high horse

I got a decent amount done today, which is shocking...not really much writing, but in my effort to procrastinate my way around my current block, I did a bunch of other stuff instead. I woke up at a reasonable hour, did a bit of planning for the week, and did a lot of wardrobe maintenance (mostly hanging, folding, and putting things away, since my guest bed has turned into a spare closet in the absence of any foreseeable guests). I also went on a wine run to restock my supplies in advance of fall / the election / general life events - I hadn't made a wine run since June (other than the occasional bottle at the wine shop down the street) and while the situation certainly wasn't dire, I was basically out of the <$20 bottles that are good for opening and sipping throughout the week and instead had started popping the expensive bottles that were mementoes from wineries and other past lives.

So, I succumbed to my inner hoarder that now worries when I have less than two of anything, and I stocked up. Then I went to the grocery store to grab a few things (mostly produce) for meals this week. Then I came home and spent most of the afternoon talking - I had a videochat with Katrina, then a call with [censored], and then my usual Sunday night call with my parents. Everyone was in good form, and it was nice to catch up with all parties -- never long enough, of course, but I'll take what I can get.

After I hung up with my parents, I immediately cooked for a couple of hours. I made four servings of oatmeal for breakfast this week. I boiled eggs, cooked bacon, and cooked chicken breast for cobb salads (but I didn't put the salads together because I ran out of steam). I also tried a new-to-me recipe for a spicy carbonara pasta by Chrissy Teigen - I was in the mood for carbonara, especially since I was cooking bacon anyway, and this recipe was v. tasty. The spicy part wasn't a joke - it involved three tablespoons of chile garlic sauce, which is about three more tablespoons than I usually put into things. But it was super tasty and I would definitely eat it again, which is a good thing since there are leftovers.

And now I need to go to sleep and get tomorrow off on a strong writing note - goodnight!

a tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies

I'm super tired and should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I've been dozing in my living room (yay Saturday night). Today was lovely, though - I slept in, thanks in large part to my new mostly-blackout blind in my bedroom, which was an excellent investment. Then I messed around, made coffee, talked to Katie, ate some leftover pizza, and spent a few hours doing stuff in my basement. I'd been letting the stockpile get a little unruly down there, since it's pretty easy to just take groceries down there and never put them away. So I reorganized, put everything on my shelves, made a list of things I need to stock up on (I am down to one can of coconut milk, which just won't cut it in the apocalypse).

Then, I took a shower. And then I unpacked my gorgeous new kitchenaid mixer - I got it in a lovely creamy yellow, which looks great in my kitchen. I made a test run of chocolate chip chewies, which turned out perfectly - I'm really not sure why I waited this long to get one, but thanks Aunt B for the gift!

As soon as my cookies were done, I took them + a bag with ingredients for moscow mules over to Katie's house. We had a proper backyard hangout/dinner - she made roast beef, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots, all of which were perfect, and we had moscow mules and many many chocolate chip chewies while the kids ran around and watched a movie. Chocolate chip chewies are delightful in part because you can cut whatever size you want, which often results in fun 'fooling yourself' moments in which you cut a thin sliver all the way across the pan to pretend that you didn't really have a cookie.

Eventually, though, we were all tired, so I came home and exhibited commendable restraint by freezing some of the chewies immediately rather than leaving them out to gorge on tomorrow. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

this means no fear, cavalier, renegade and steering clear

I had a long day of video conferences, starting with having to film the closing talk for the virtual event that is replacing the big events my team usually plans every fall. That made me a little sad, since I didn't get to go anywhere or bond with anyone and instead just had to sit at my laptop and stare into the camera. But I guess it could be worse.

Then I had many meetings, and my last one got hijacked by my coworker's wife (they had clearly been drinking, and I'd opened wine to have a glass with him since the meeting was half gossip, but her hijacking was hilarious). Then I talked to Terry for a long time. Then I talked to Katie, since we also needed to debrief on the year that was today. Then I ate delivery pizza and talked to [censored]. And now, after too much time on screens tonight, it's time for bed - goodnight!

bid my blood to run before i come undone

Long day....many meetings, more time spent trying to craft one single perfect email, and a delicious salmon and spicy tuna poke bowl for lunch (delivered, of course). I took a break at 4:30 to hang out with Caroline, who brought snacks to go with a bottle of rose from my fridge, which we enjoyed on my back patio. 'Enjoyed' may have been too strong - it was chilly, hazy, smoky, and my couches had visible ash on them, but it was still great to see Caroline and discuss many tings from a distance of 6-8 feet rather than over our screens.

Then she left, I talked to [censored] for awhile, went way too deep on Twitter (wear a mask, kids!), and then pulled out of Twitter and worked on day job stuff for the last two hours. And now I really need to sleep since I have tings to do tomorrow - goodnight!